Trusses are used in many disciplines to support structures and other objects. A light weight, deployable truss is key to many space applications. However, many difficulties arise in creating a deployable truss. Some conventional systems permit the truss strut members to flex or bend to permit its collapse. However, such structures are limited in their structural strength as the supporting members are not rigid. Some conventional systems use rigid members to support the structure. However, these require attachment or actuation of members and joints that add weight to the system.
NASA has concluded that Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) is the most efficient solution to perform deep space human exploration missions. In fact, studies have shown that SEP is a “big enabler” reducing launch mass by 50 percent (factor of two) and mass growth sensitivity by 60 percent. However, for large scale SEP vehicles, one of the biggest challenges is the construction, integration, and testing of large autonomously deployable solar arrays. This is why NASA is requesting innovative technologies that will guarantee the development of large deployable solar arrays over the next 20 years with up to 4,000 m2 of deployed area (1 MW) for exploration missions using SEP.
One of the main challenges of the NASA Near-Earth Object (NEO) mission is to achieve at the same time a high structural efficiency and a low stowage volume that will guarantee a successful launch without the need of Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) for the 300 kW Government Reference Array (GRA) development. As a point of reference, the International Space Station (ISS) needed 4 launches and EVAs to generate ˜250 kW.